Peptic ulcers are one of the most prevalent gastrointestinal disorders. They are caused by a number of factors including Heliobacter pylori infection, certain pharmaceuticals such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), stress and diet.
Typical treatments include administration of antibiotics together with proton pump inhibitors or H2-receptor antagonists, which help to raise the gastrointestinal pH level by inhibiting gastric acid secretion. However, existing treatments can have deleterious side effects. Therefore, there remains a need to provide improved methods of treatment and prevention of these conditions.
Garlic (Allium sativum) and onion (Allium cepa) are among the oldest of all cultivated plants and have important dietary and medicinal roles (Block, 1985). Khosla and co-workers have shown garlic oil to be protective against ethanol-induced gastric ulcers in rats (Khosla et al., 2004). The protective roles of raw and boiled garlic and onion extracts against ethanol-induced gastric ulcers and gastric acid secretion was previously investigated by the present inventors (Amir et al., 2011).